My wife and I are heading to paris -> interlaken -> italy for a majority of september. I've finally looked at the rail schedules and noticed that only reasonable night train from paris to interlaken has either a 60 or 15 minute layover in Germany. We weren't planning on adding Germany to our rail passes but maybe we should? Has anyone done this and knows how much this will add to the ticket? Also, how does one go about making reservations in sleeper cars/trains? Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
You do have an alternate choice. There are nice overnighters from Paris to Milan. There's one that leaves at Paris-Bercy at 8:28pm and arrives in Milan at 5:38am (EN 221). That should give you a bit of sleep. There is also a faster train that leaves Paris-Gare-de-Lyon at 9:14pm but two hours later at Dijon, you transfer to EN221 for the night segment. Not too much sleep on this one. From Milan to Interlaken is about 5.0hrs. You still have the 1hr. layover in Milan but at least it's daylight. Also, if you have the opportunity, I would recommend that you stay in Murren, Wengen or even Gimmelwald in the Lauterbrunnen Valley as opposed to Interlaken. Much smaller and unbelievably/strikingly more scenic. These villages are at about 5,000 and overlook the valley below and the high alps above. It's 20 minutes from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and another 30 minutes by cog train or cable car and cog train to these villages.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Are you using the timetables at www.bahn.de? I assume you're planning to take the Paris-Karlsruhe night train. You can book reserved sleeping accommodations at http://buchung.nachtzugreise.de. On the drop-down menu choose, "Accommodation surcharge only, ticket exists." In Paris buy a ticket to cover the portion of the route that is in Germany.
A 2nd class ticket on the direct Karlsruhe-Basel train costs €42.80.
If you decide to include Germany on your pass, you'll still need to book your night train accommodations.
For night trains that don't start or end in Germany, the cheapest way to reserve accommodations is to do it at a station in the country from which you are departing. However, you run the risk of a train being sold out. You can book reservations at raileurope.com, but you'll pay more and you'll need to allow time for them to be mailed to your home.
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis, MN, USA
3 posts
Tim, thanks for the reservation link!
Larry, thanks for the alternate route. This is actually a pretty stellar route.
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis, MN, USA
3 posts
any ideas how to book room for two in a couchette on that route (paris -> milan)? After reading up about them it sounds like they fill up early.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
There are many trains (TGV & IC) departing Paris to Interlaken with 1 or 2 stops....anywhere from 5 hours 39 minutes to 6-1/2 hours.
We took a night train from Paris to Zurich and was not impressed. We thought we had to take a night train while in Europe for the experience.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
You can make your accommodations reservations for the Paris-Milano night train by calling the SNCF English-speaking number. Dial 011 (US international access code) + 33 (country code for France) + (0)8 92 35 35 39. Omit the initial zero since it is only used for calls originating in France.